Leave A Comment

Christopher Nolan ‘Afraid’ to Touch ‘Star Wars,’ Praises Abrams

While talking to Christopher Nolan about his newly released space epic Interstellar, The Daily Beast uncovered the director’s history with the most epic of space operas, Star Wars.

“I first saw Star Wars in 1977 when I was 7 years old,” he revealed, “and I’ve never forgotten the incredible nature of that experience — the possibility of the screen opening up, sucking you in, and taking you to a different galaxy.”

When asked if he ever considered stepping behind the camera for a Star Wars installment, specifically Episode VII, Nolan expressed a bit of hesitation.

“I’m pretty excited to see what [director] J.J. [Abrams] is going to do with that,” he said. “I’m excited to see that he’s shooting on film and actually built the Millennium Falcon. As far as whether or not I would have ever done it, the truth is I think I’d be afraid to touch it! He’s boldly going where he went before in Star Trek, and it takes colossal balls.”

Considering Nolan’s reputation for putting his own mind-bending original concepts on the screen in big-budget — and therefore risky — films, it might be odd to hear his intimidation when asked about the franchise he loved as a child. “I’m a lot more comfortable trying to do my own thing than carrying the weight and expectation of the entire world — particularly 40-somethings like me who live and die with each new bit of information about Star Wars. But I’m very excited to see what he does.”